CVE-2026-68498
Published:October 16, 2026
Updated:October 16, 2026
StreamReadConstraints.maxNameLength (default 50,000 characters) is intended to bound how much memory a single JSON Object property name can consume while being parsed, independently of the much larger maxStringLength (default 100,000,000 characters) that bounds ordinary string values. For parsers built over character input — Reader, String or char[] sources, all served by ReaderBasedJsonParser — that bound is not applied while the name is being accumulated. The code path instead re-uses the string-value length check, which is roughly 2000x larger by default.
In the character-input slow path, ReaderBasedJsonParser._parseName2() accumulates the name into the TextBuffer and, when a segment fills, calls TextBuffer.finishCurrentSegment(), which validates only maxStringLength. The correct check, StreamReadConstraints.validateNameLength(int), is reached afterwards in CharsToNameCanonicalizer.findSymbol(), once the entire name has been scanned to its closing quote. By that point the full name — up to maxStringLength characters — has already been buffered in memory.
A remote attacker who can have a single sufficiently long JSON Object property name parsed through this path can force allocation on the order of 100,000,000 characters (approximately 200 MB, with segment bookkeeping pushing real peak usage higher) before any StreamConstraintsException is thrown, instead of the approximately 50,000-character (about 100 KB) bound the API promises. Repeating this across concurrent requests can exhaust the heap and crash the process. No authentication or user interaction is required. Because StreamReadConstraints.maxDocumentLength is disabled by default (-1), nothing else bounds the token first, so the issue is exploitable under default configuration.
Byte-input parsers are not affected: UTF8StreamJsonParser, UTF8DataInputJsonParser and the non-blocking (async) parsers re-validate maxNameLength on every growth of the name-decode buffer via ParserBase._growNameDecodeBuffer(), rejecting an oversized name after allocating only tens of kilobytes. Applications are exposed when untrusted JSON is parsed from a String, Reader or char[] — for example an HTTP request body already read into a String — rather than from raw UTF-8 bytes.
This issue affects com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-core from 2.16.0 and tools.jackson.core:jackson-core from 3.0.0. Releases before 2.16.0 are not affected, because StreamReadConstraints.maxNameLength was first introduced in jackson-core 2.16.0.
Affected Packages
https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-core.git (GITHUB):
Affected version(s) >=jackson-core-3.2.0 <jackson-core-3.2.2Fix Suggestion:
Update to version jackson-core-3.2.2https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-core.git (GITHUB):
Affected version(s) >=jackson-core-2.22.0 <jackson-core-2.22.2Fix Suggestion:
Update to version jackson-core-2.22.2https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-core.git (GITHUB):
Affected version(s) >=jackson-core-3.0.0 <jackson-core-3.1.6Fix Suggestion:
Update to version jackson-core-3.1.6https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-core.git (GITHUB):
Affected version(s) >=jackson-core-2.19.0 <jackson-core-2.21.6Fix Suggestion:
Update to version jackson-core-2.21.6https://github.com/FasterXML/jackson-core.git (GITHUB):
Affected version(s) >=jackson-core-2.16.0 <jackson-core-2.18.10Fix Suggestion:
Update to version jackson-core-2.18.10com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-core (JAVA):
Affected version(s) >=2.16.0 <2.18.10Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 2.18.10com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-core (JAVA):
Affected version(s) >=2.22.0 <2.22.2Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 2.22.2com.fasterxml.jackson.core:jackson-core (JAVA):
Affected version(s) >=2.19.0 <2.21.6Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 2.21.6tools.jackson.core:jackson-core (JAVA):
Affected version(s) >=3.0.0 <3.1.6Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 3.1.6tools.jackson.core:jackson-core (JAVA):
Affected version(s) >=3.2.0 <3.2.2Fix Suggestion:
Update to version 3.2.2Related Resources (5)
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Contact UsCVSS v4
Base Score:
8.7
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Attack Requirements
NONE
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Vulnerable System Confidentiality
NONE
Vulnerable System Integrity
NONE
Vulnerable System Availability
HIGH
Subsequent System Confidentiality
NONE
Subsequent System Integrity
NONE
Subsequent System Availability
NONE
CVSS v3
Base Score:
7.5
Attack Vector
NETWORK
Attack Complexity
LOW
Privileges Required
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
UNCHANGED
Confidentiality
NONE
Integrity
NONE
Availability
HIGH
Weakness Type (CWE)
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption